MS is What State? Decoding US Postal Abbreviations

In the realm of United States addresses, the two-letter state abbreviations are ubiquitous, but have you ever stopped to wonder about their origin? Specifically, when you see “MS,” do you know which state it represents? This abbreviation, commonly used by the United States Postal Service (USPS), stands for Mississippi. However, the story behind these abbreviations is rooted in practicality and the dawn of the ZIP Code era.

Prior to July 1, 1963, state names were generally written out in full in addresses. However, the introduction of the five-digit ZIP Code by the Post Office Department (precursor to the USPS) necessitated a change. Early addressing equipment had a character limit of just 23 spaces on the bottom line of an address. To accommodate the new ZIP Code within this constraint, state names had to be shortened.

Initially, in June 1963, the Post Office Department issued a list of state abbreviations. Yet, many of these were still three or four letters long, proving insufficient for the space-saving requirements. By October 1963, a more concise system was adopted: the two-letter abbreviations we recognize today. This streamlined approach made room for the ZIP Code, ensuring efficient mail sorting and delivery. Interestingly, in 1969, a minor adjustment was made when Nebraska’s abbreviation was changed from NB to NE to prevent confusion with New Brunswick, Canada, at the request of Canadian postal authorities.

The table below illustrates how state and territory abbreviations have evolved over time, culminating in the two-letter system that includes “MS” for Mississippi. This system, born from necessity, has become a fundamental part of US address formatting.

Postal abbreviations for states/territories

State/Territory 1831 1874 1943 June 1963 Oct. 1963 – Present
Alabama Al. Ala. Ala. ALA AL
Alaska Alaska Alaska ALSK AK
Arizona Ariz. Ariz. ARIZ AZ
Arkansas Ar. T. Ark. Ark. ARK AR
California Cal. Calif. CALIF CA
Colorado Colo. Colo. COL CO
Connecticut Ct. Conn. Conn. CONN CT
Delaware De. Del. Del. DEL DE
District of Columbia D. C. D. C. D. C. DC DC
Florida Fl. T. Fla. Fla. FLA FL
Georgia Ga. Ga. Ga. GA GA
Hawaii Hawaii HAW HI
Idaho Idaho Idaho IDA ID
Illinois Il. Ill. Ill. ILL IL
Indiana Ia. Ind. Ind. IND IN
Iowa Iowa Iowa IOWA IA
Kansas Kans. Kans. KANS KS
Kentucky Ky. Ky. Ky. KY KY
Louisiana La. La. La. LA LA
Maine Me. Me. Maine ME ME
Maryland Md. Md. Md. MD MD
Massachusetts Ms. Mass. Mass. MASS MA
Michigan Mic. T. Mich. Mich. MICH MI
Minnesota Minn. Minn. MINN MN
Mississippi Mi. Miss. Miss. MISS MS
Missouri Mo. Mo. Mo. MO MO
Montana Mont. Mont. MONT MT
Nebraska Nebr. Nebr. NEB NB* *to NE in 1969
Nevada Nev. Nev. NEV NV
New Hampshire N. H. N. H. N. H. NH NH
New Jersey N. J. N. J. N. J. NJ NJ
New Mexico N. Mex. N. Mex. NM NM
New York N. Y. N. Y. N. Y. NY NY
North Carolina N. C. N. C. N. C. NC NC
North Dakota N. Dak. ND ND
Ohio O. Ohio Ohio OHIO OH
Oklahoma Okla. OKLA OK
Oregon Oreg. Oreg. ORE OR
Pennsylvania Pa. Pa. Pa. PA PA
Puerto Rico P. R. PR PR
Rhode Island R. I. R. I. R. I. RI RI
South Carolina S. C. S. C. S. C. SC SC
South Dakota S. Dak. SD SD
Tennessee Te. Tenn. Tenn. TENN TN
Texas Tex. Tex. TEX TX
Utah Utah Utah UTAH UT
Vermont Vt. Vt. Vt. VT VT
Virginia Va. Va. Va. VA VA
Washington Wash. Wash. WASH WA
West Virginia W. Va. W. Va. W VA WV
Wisconsin Wis. Wis. WIS WI
Wyoming Wyo. Wyo. WYO WY

Sources: 1831, Table of Post Offices in the United States; 1874 and 1943, United States Official Postal Guide; June 1963, Postal Bulletin 20368; Oct. 1963, Post Office Department Publication 59, Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Code.

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